It's limoncello time again.

I finally found a few Sorrento lemons here. They are rather large and ovoid and, um, er, smell like limoncello. I added three regular lemons, used my death-defying peeler to get strips of just the zest, and they are now sitting in a half-liter of Everclear. The jar is pretty full, actually.

Anyway, I still have half a bottle of Everclear to make something else. Maybe orange?

Of course, I squoze the otherwise-whole lemons and have half a wine bottle full of lemon juice. As my waistline does not really need lemon bars, lemon cake, lemon chiffon, or lemon curd, I think I'm going to make up some lemonade. Although I suppose sherbet is a good option, too.

Were the Sorrento lemons from a market? I never see those around here.

I started a batch of vin de pamplemousse a week or so ago. Sliced pink grapefruit and oranges, white wine, vodka, and a vanilla pod, all sitting for another month or so.

Anyway, I still have half a bottle of Everclear to make something else. Maybe orange?

Or kaffir lime?

-Paul W.

Mike - Yes! I found them at Agata & Valentina, which is a sort of Italian Balducci's (!) kind of place. Their website said they have Calabresi lemons, which I've never heard of but I figure OK. So, I call them up, and I get the produce guy on the phone, and I ask him whether he actually has any Calabresi lemons... no. Then I ask whether he has any Sorrento lemons... yes. So, I went there, they had half a dozen lemons, one was rotting away so I left that one but took all the others. The lady at checkout called them Italian lemons while the receipt said Calabresi lemons. By any name, I guess.

I'm curious about the pamplemousse you're making. I've read that grapefruit and lime don't extract very well.

Oh, to live in New York City. I have friends here who make limoncello from Meyer lemons, and it's fine, but not like what you get in Italy. The Sorrento lemons ought to go a long way to correcting that.

I started making vin de pamplemousse years ago from a recipe in a Chez Panisse cookbook. It's a refreshing aperitif, with some bitterness from the grapefruit countered by the sugar and orange. Good served over ice in the summer, a little like Lillet. It extracts reasonably well, perhaps due to using thin slices of the whole fruit and giving it a good stir every day or two.

We drink a lot of Lillet Blanc around here so this is ver-r-ry interesting!

The recipe was originally in the Chez Panisse Fruit cookbook. That one was somewhere on the web years ago but I've been unable to find it recently. The one I used this time around was at this site.

That looks like a good recipe. I don't have a jar big enough for half a case of wine and six grapefruits but maybe I can do two.

The recipe was originally in the Chez Panisse Fruit cookbook. That one was somewhere on the web years ago but I've been unable to find it recently. The one I used this time around was at this site.

OK, I have started up two jars. Each has one grapefruit, half a blood orange, a bottle of Quincy, a skoosh of vodka, a dose of sugar, and a flavor: one has a teaspoon of vanilla sugar, the other has two blades from a star anise. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks, Mike, for the idea!

The recipe was originally in the Chez Panisse Fruit cookbook. That one was somewhere on the web years ago but I've been unable to find it recently. The one I used this time around was at this site.

OK, I have started up two jars. Each has one grapefruit, half a blood orange, a bottle of Quincy, a skoosh of vodka, a dose of sugar, and a flavor: one has a teaspoon of vanilla sugar, the other has two blades from a star anise. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks, Mike, for the idea!

Great! I hope you like the results. I really like the stuff, as do some of my friends. I did give a bottle to a co-worker a number of years ago as she had given me the grapefruit and I told her I planned to make a sort of grapefruit wine out of it. I don't know what she thought it would taste like, but she really didn't like it!

I'm telling myself it's going to be grapefruit-centric Lillet. (And I just checked that my statin is one of the ones less-affected so whee!)

OK, I have started up two jars. Each has one grapefruit, half a blood orange, a bottle of Quincy, a skoosh of vodka, a dose of sugar, and a flavor: one has a teaspoon of vanilla sugar, the other has two blades from a star anise. I'll keep you posted.

Tonight I have filtered out the solids and, separately, squeezed the fruits for their (modified) juice. On a quick taste, the star anise one is a better standalone drink, more complexity and obvious zing. The vanilla-scented one is a bit more vermouth-y and seems to want a partner in the glass.

I finally found a few Sorrento lemons here. They are rather large and ovoid and, um, er, smell like limoncello. I added three regular lemons, used my death-defying peeler to get strips of just the zest, and they are now sitting in a half-liter of Everclear. The jar is pretty full, actually.

I gave the peels 23 days in the Everclear. As I only barely know what I am doing, I made up a "taster" bottle to see what the balance of liquor, simple syrup, and water should be. First taster is equal parts of each. After a week to mingle, it is definitely the right flavor but it is a little bitter. I'll cut it with more simple syrup, wait a week, and try again.

I strained and bottled my Vin de Pamplemousse today. It's a little more tart than usual, and I had to add some sugar to balance it out. This could just be the particular grapefruit involved or it may have to do with the amount of time it spend soaking, which is longer than usual for me. It's still pretty tasty, though.

Drinks-making updates:

I showed my two Vin de Pamplemousse to a drinks friend. She liked the vanilla one better than the star-anise one! It's now a week later and I have decided that I like both of my flavors. I also find that adding a couple spoons of the saved fruit squeezings improves the drink quite a bit (reinforces the grapefruit flavor). Pumpkin thinks it needs to be sweeter; maybe just a touch.

I've re-mixed another limoncello sampler so we'll see how that tastes in a week.

I've started a batch of arancello: I took the zest from five big navel oranges and two ovoid blood oranges, put it in a jar with one 4" piece of cinnamon and half a bottle of Everclear. I will visit it periodically but am planning for 30 days maceration.

The star-anise flavored VdP is gone. I will definitely add the squeezings to future batches.

The Everclear is already a brilliant orange color.

The star-anise flavored VdP is gone. I will definitely add the squeezings to future batches.

The Everclear is already a brilliant orange color.

Curious to hear how the arancello turns out. I've never had it but it sounds like something that ought to be pretty tasty.

I think I've got the limoncello formula ready for this batch: 1 part liqueur base, 2 parts simple syrup, 1.5 parts water.

The orange zest has had a dozen days and I'm not sure that waiting longer is going to improve it. So, as soon as the limoncello is blended (either Friday or Saturday) I will withdraw the arancello base and make a first-cut blend.

Reminder... I steeped the zests of 5 navel oranges and 2 blood oranges plus a 4" cinnamon stick in half a liter of Everclear for 14 days.

Now the update.

I made up a sample from the liqueur base. Apparently, my cinnamon stick was incredibly strong and the flavor overwhelmed the orange flavor almost entirely. As I was contemplating whether to simply declare that I was making cinnamon liqueur all along Jim suggested adding more peels. Interesting idea.

So, I steeped the zests of 4 more navel oranges in the liqueur base for another 15 days. The new sample tastes like orange liqueur with a hefty dose of cinnamon, but it's definitely back in the citrus-drink camp.

Another simultaneous experiment was to use strong simple syrup -- 1.5 cups sugar to 1 cup water -- rather than the usual 1:1 mix. This gives a lot of sweetness and viscosity without much dilution. But I found it too sweet, so stepped it back to 1.25:1.

And that is the final blend of the arancello: equal parts double-steeped liqueur base and medium-strong simple syrup + 2 parts spring water. Yield approx. 1500 ml.

The liqueur base was a very pretty, clear, and saturated orange color, but the final product looks like orange juice.

As I was contemplating whether to simply declare that I was making cinnamon liqueur all along ...

This is always a prime strategy! Something I am trying to teach my teenage son as he experiments with baking and frets about things not coming out 'the right way'.

As I was contemplating whether to simply declare that I was making cinnamon liqueur all along ...

This is always a prime strategy! Something I am trying to teach my teenage son as he experiments with baking and frets about things not coming out 'the right way'.

Well, it *is* important to get things the way you want them! But it is also OK, for non-cognoscenti, to label a failed sponge cake as "coffee cake." Or to tear it up, throw some jam and whipped cream over it, and label it "kaiserschmarrn".

Well, it *is* important to get things the way you want them! But it is also OK, for non-cognoscenti, to label a failed sponge cake as "coffee cake." Or to tear it up, throw some jam and whipped cream over it, and label it "kaiserschmarrn".

Yes, it's important to be able to learn what in the process led to the outcome, so you can adjust for the next time and improve your mastery.

But, being overly-fixated on one 'correct' outcome is a tough way to cook. And, I think it's a barrier for many beginner cooks, who develop too many fears around the kitchen.

Yes, it's important to be able to learn what in the process led to the outcome, so you can adjust for the next time and improve your mastery.

But, being overly-fixated on one 'correct' outcome is a tough way to cook. And, I think it's a barrier for many beginner cooks, who develop too many fears around the kitchen.

Reminds me a little of my piano teacher when I was a lad. When we were preparing for the annual recital, she told me, if I made a mistake, to simply continue playing; she and I would know, but no one in the audience would.